In Brief: Luciana Rehder Toledo (17) from Brazil

Biography.

I was born and raised in São Paulo and have always been in love with animals, but horses have the major place in the spotlight. I started taking riding lessons when I was five, and haven’t stopped ever since. I always try to combine my studies with sports.
This is my last year of high school and it has not been easy to do both, school and endurance, but I try my best to manage my schedule in order not to sacrifice neither of them. After my graduation, I intend to apply for a veterinary medicine university.

Daily activities of Luciana Rehder Toledo

My routine is quite exhausting. I live in a neighbourhood called Aldeia da Serra, situated 45 km from São Paulo, where I study. On weekdays I wake up very early in the morning to go to school and during the evenings, back home, I go to the gym to improve my physical conditioning, focusing on the horse competitions. During the weekends I go to Sorocaba, 65km from my home, to train the horses myself.

Notable achievements / palmares.

2015
I did my first 120 km endurance in the 2015 Brazilian Championship, finishing in third place.
It was a very difficult race, rewarded with a lot of conquests. Some of them were the wet surface and the fact that it was the first time for my horse in that category.

2016
Champion of the Chevaux YR Cup.

Second place in the Brazilian Championship for 120 km, six days after fracturing my clavicle. Just after the fall, the only thing in my mind was the Brazilian championship that was happening in less than a week. I tried to hide the pain from the other people but without success. After some time I had to go to the hospital. When the doctor told me about the fracture I said to myself that until the competition I was putting as little efforts a possible on my arm, but at the day itself to forget about the pain and get over it. Only who is devoted to the sport knows the bad feeling of having to give up the plans at the last moment, especially because it has been planned and we worked for it since a long time. I told my team that I was not going to give up during the race even with the strong pain and that I would do my best. Just after being on my horse , at 5:30 am, the emotion become much bigger than the pain and this convinced me that all the effort was worth doing it.

2017
In June of 2017 my horse HNP Norman and I completed our fourth 120 km race. Just after that, we were invited to be part of the Brazilian young riders team to go to the Pan-Americano. This race will take place in Uruguay in October of 2017.

What is your goal, your objective?

My main goal, since the beginning, is to do what I like the most: enjoy every moment. I believe that with the sport we learn a lot of things that can be applicable in our social life. Thinking this way, my plan is to learn from my experiences and take it to my entire future life.
Nowadays, with the invitation to ride in the Pan-Americano to represent my country, I hope to get a sponsorship to help this dream come true.

When did Luciana Rehder Toledo start riding?

In 2005, I started taking riding lessons regularly, three times a week, aiming primarly for jumping. In 2011, I started practicing Endurance.

Does riding run in the family?

My family has always been involved in the sport. My parents did Enduro in the past, but are currently part of the support team. After my parents, the next to start in endurance was my oldest sister, Paula Rehder Toledo (21 years old), in 2009.
In 2011, she was part of the Brazilian team in the Pan-Americano organized in Santo Domingo, Chile. The YR Brazilian team was going very well until km 105, with the first, second and, my sister, on the seventh place. At the end of the fourth loop, unfortunately the three of them were eliminated. The good part is that all the horses were back in good condition the next day.
For this first semester of 2017 my sister was not participating in races because she is studying abroad, but the plans for the second semester are already in place, when she will be back to Brazil.

Why horses?

Horses are special animals. They are as sensitive as they are big. They have the ability to teach us to be calm. When I am with them I feel good, for me it is like a therapy.

Why endurance?

Endurance has shown me that when you work with a team seeking the same thing, difficulties seem smaller and goals easier to be accomplished. Besides, the energy between teams is contagious, and being in touch with nature is amazing, while the respect towards the animals is of the utmost importance.
Sometimes I hear from some people that “Endurance is a thankless sport. You finish long distance races and at the end you are eliminated”. Is it true? Yes! But for me the real meaning of this is that sometimes you win, but others you lose. However, every race is a big learning. When you fail you need to stop and analyse ‘why did it happen?’, ‘how can I fix it?’ Also, when you win it is necessary to think about everything that made it possible, in order to try to repeat the success. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to consider that some fatalities can happen. It is not all about a horse and a rider, it’s a team and its harmony focusing on the horse well-being.

What do you consider your main strengths?

I consider perseverance, passion, persistence and determination my main strengths. I never gave up in the middle of a race, it was always out of my mind, because I love what I do and recognize the hard work behind the races achievements.

Own horses or ride for somebody else?

I have my horses, since the sport is my hobby, but when I’m asked by other teams I have great pleasure in riding their horses, it is always a great experience to know other horses and team mentality.

Do you train horses?

I train only my horses with the help of grooms.

What do you like / dislike about training?

For me training is a pleasure. I like the whole process starting with taking care of the horse, until the training. The only thing I really dislike is to finish a training and then going back to the school. Also, not being with the horses during the weekdays is not easy at all.

What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge. What is this now and what was it in the past?

My biggest challenge since I started riding was to reconquer total confidence on horses after having fallen from my first horse, Dartanhan. This trauma marked my transition from show jumping to endurance because after the incident my parents sold him. Later we started to look after another horse, and because at that time they were already practicing endurance, my second horse was an endurance one, named Zen Jamal. Before being mine, he had already participated into a lot of competitions, as well as international ones. He won me in all senses and taught me this marvellous sport. After a while riding only the “saint” Zen, I won a young girl named Angel of Love. She made me lose any kind of fear for different horses, that’s because her hard temper. It was after her that I started to ride horses from other teams.

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In Brief: Luciana Rehder Toledo (17) from Brazil

By Admin

Name: Luciana Rehder Toledo

Age: 17 years old

From: São Paulo- SP, Brazil

Biography.

I was born and raised in São Paulo and have always been in love with animals, but horses have the major place in the spotlight. I started taking riding lessons when I was five, and haven’t stopped ever since. I always try to combine my studies with sports.
This is my last year of high school and it has not been easy to do both, school and endurance, but I try my best to manage my schedule in order not to sacrifice neither of them. After my graduation, I intend to apply for a veterinary medicine university.

Daily activities of Luciana Rehder Toledo

My routine is quite exhausting. I live in a neighbourhood called Aldeia da Serra, situated 45 km from São Paulo, where I study. On weekdays I wake up very early in the morning to go to school and during the evenings, back home, I go to the gym to improve my physical conditioning, focusing on the horse competitions. During the weekends I go to Sorocaba, 65km from my home, to train the horses myself.

Notable achievements / palmares.

2015
I did my first 120 km endurance in the 2015 Brazilian Championship, finishing in third place.
It was a very difficult race, rewarded with a lot of conquests. Some of them were the wet surface and the fact that it was the first time for my horse in that category.

2016
Champion of the Chevaux YR Cup.

Second place in the Brazilian Championship for 120 km, six days after fracturing my clavicle. Just after the fall, the only thing in my mind was the Brazilian championship that was happening in less than a week. I tried to hide the pain from the other people but without success. After some time I had to go to the hospital. When the doctor told me about the fracture I said to myself that until the competition I was putting as little efforts a possible on my arm, but at the day itself to forget about the pain and get over it. Only who is devoted to the sport knows the bad feeling of having to give up the plans at the last moment, especially because it has been planned and we worked for it since a long time. I told my team that I was not going to give up during the race even with the strong pain and that I would do my best. Just after being on my horse , at 5:30 am, the emotion become much bigger than the pain and this convinced me that all the effort was worth doing it.

2017
In June of 2017 my horse HNP Norman and I completed our fourth 120 km race. Just after that, we were invited to be part of the Brazilian young riders team to go to the Pan-Americano. This race will take place in Uruguay in October of 2017.

What is your goal, your objective?

My main goal, since the beginning, is to do what I like the most: enjoy every moment. I believe that with the sport we learn a lot of things that can be applicable in our social life. Thinking this way, my plan is to learn from my experiences and take it to my entire future life.
Nowadays, with the invitation to ride in the Pan-Americano to represent my country, I hope to get a sponsorship to help this dream come true.

When did Luciana Rehder Toledo start riding?

In 2005, I started taking riding lessons regularly, three times a week, aiming primarly for jumping. In 2011, I started practicing Endurance.

Does riding run in the family?

My family has always been involved in the sport. My parents did Enduro in the past, but are currently part of the support team. After my parents, the next to start in endurance was my oldest sister, Paula Rehder Toledo (21 years old), in 2009.
In 2011, she was part of the Brazilian team in the Pan-Americano organized in Santo Domingo, Chile. The YR Brazilian team was going very well until km 105, with the first, second and, my sister, on the seventh place. At the end of the fourth loop, unfortunately the three of them were eliminated. The good part is that all the horses were back in good condition the next day.
For this first semester of 2017 my sister was not participating in races because she is studying abroad, but the plans for the second semester are already in place, when she will be back to Brazil.

Why horses?

Horses are special animals. They are as sensitive as they are big. They have the ability to teach us to be calm. When I am with them I feel good, for me it is like a therapy.

Why endurance?

Endurance has shown me that when you work with a team seeking the same thing, difficulties seem smaller and goals easier to be accomplished. Besides, the energy between teams is contagious, and being in touch with nature is amazing, while the respect towards the animals is of the utmost importance.
Sometimes I hear from some people that “Endurance is a thankless sport. You finish long distance races and at the end you are eliminated”. Is it true? Yes! But for me the real meaning of this is that sometimes you win, but others you lose. However, every race is a big learning. When you fail you need to stop and analyse ‘why did it happen?’, ‘how can I fix it?’ Also, when you win it is necessary to think about everything that made it possible, in order to try to repeat the success. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to consider that some fatalities can happen. It is not all about a horse and a rider, it’s a team and its harmony focusing on the horse well-being.

What do you consider your main strengths?

I consider perseverance, passion, persistence and determination my main strengths. I never gave up in the middle of a race, it was always out of my mind, because I love what I do and recognize the hard work behind the races achievements.

Own horses or ride for somebody else?

I have my horses, since the sport is my hobby, but when I’m asked by other teams I have great pleasure in riding their horses, it is always a great experience to know other horses and team mentality.

Do you train horses?

I train only my horses with the help of grooms.

What do you like / dislike about training?

For me training is a pleasure. I like the whole process starting with taking care of the horse, until the training. The only thing I really dislike is to finish a training and then going back to the school. Also, not being with the horses during the weekdays is not easy at all.

What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge. What is this now and what was it in the past?

My biggest challenge since I started riding was to reconquer total confidence on horses after having fallen from my first horse, Dartanhan. This trauma marked my transition from show jumping to endurance because after the incident my parents sold him. Later we started to look after another horse, and because at that time they were already practicing endurance, my second horse was an endurance one, named Zen Jamal. Before being mine, he had already participated into a lot of competitions, as well as international ones. He won me in all senses and taught me this marvellous sport. After a while riding only the “saint” Zen, I won a young girl named Angel of Love. She made me lose any kind of fear for different horses, that’s because her hard temper. It was after her that I started to ride horses from other teams.